SPORT / SPORTS
Prolazeći tragovima dvojice šampiona, ne upoznajete samo dva najveća španska grada već i dve autentične životne priče Following in the tracks of these two champions, you won’t only familiarise yourself with Spain’s two largest cities, but also two authentic life stories
RODRI & MADRID
On the other side, landing in Ma- drid means arriving in a metropolis that experiences football with complete- ly different, tactical elegance. The mas- termind behind the entire world cup squad’s campaign is Rodrigo Hernández Cascante, better known simply as Rod- ri. Born and raised in Madrid, Rodri is a rather unusual phenomenon in mod- ern sport: a man who doesn’t have an account on any social media network and who, while playing professionally in Spain, lived in a student dormitory and completed his studies in economics. He was tempered as a player at the Atléti- co Madrid academy in the western sub- urb of Majadahonda, while his journey led him through Villarreal to Manches- ter City, where – under the command of Pep Guardiola – he is today consid- ered the world’s best midfielder. Despite playing for a club in England, Rodri is purely a product of the Madrid school of football and positional intelligence. Walking in his tracks through the Spanish capital takes you through the cultural centre itself, the so-called “Golden Triangle of Art”, consisting of the Prado, Reina Sofia and Thys- sen-Bornemisza museums. In close proximity to this artistic core, along the elegant thoroughfare of Paseo de la Castellana, rises the epicentre of foot- ball that is Santiago Bernabéu stadium. The home of Real Madrid has recent- ly received a new, futuristic steel façade, a retractable roof and an underground turf system, making it one of the world’s most modern sporting facilities. A tour of the Bernabéu, encompassing the 15 Champions League trophies oc- cupying the club’s display cases, com- pletes the picture of Madrid as a city where top art and football dominance have always gone hand in hand.
RODRI I MADRID
Sa druge strane, sletanje u Ma- drid dovodi vas u metropolu koja fud- bal doživljava sa potpuno drugačijom, taktičkom elegancijom. Mozak celog šampionskog tima je Rodrigo Ernan- dez Kaskante, poznatiji jednostavno kao Rodri. Rođen i odrastao u samom Madridu, Rodri je prilično neobična pojava u modernom sportu: čovek ko- ji nema nalog ni na jednoj društve- noj mreži i koji je, dok je igrao u Špani- ji, živeo u studentskom domu i završio studije ekonomije. Fudbalski se kalio u Akademiji Atletiko Madrida u zapad- nom predgrađu Majadahonda, ali ga je put preko Viljareala doveo do Manče- ster Sitija, gde pod komandom Gvar- diole danas važi za najboljeg veznog igrača sveta. Iako klupski nastupa u Engleskoj, Rodri je čist proizvod ma- dridske škole fudbala i inteligencije. Šetnja prestonicom Španije njego- vim stopama vodi vas kroz sam kul- turni centar, takozvani Zlatni trougao umetnosti koji čine muzeji „Prado“, „Reina Sofija“ i „Tisen-Bornemisa“. U neposrednoj blizini ovog umetničkog jezgra, duž elegantnog Bulevara Pa- seo de la Kasteljana, uzdiže se fudbal- ski epicentar, stadion „Santjago Ber- nabeu“. Dom Real Madrida nedavno je dobio novu, futurističku čeličnu fasa-
du, pokretni krov i podzemni sistem za uvlačenje travnjaka, što ga čini jed- nim od najmodernijih sportskih obje- kata na svetu. Obilazak „Bernabeua“, sa pogledom na 15 pehara Lige šampi- ona u klupskim vitrinama, zaokružuje sliku o Madridu kao gradu u kome su vrhunska umetnost i fudbalska domi- nacija uvek išli ruku pod ruku.
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